Adaptability Is the New Job Security and 4 More Future AI Trends from EY’s Global Chief Innovation Officer

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The current business environment is experiencing huge disruptions, and a large part of it focuses on artificial intelligence (AI):

  • Countries and regions are creating AI policy islands.
  • Corporations are realigning middle management and reskilling the workforce.
  • Data has never been more crucial or valuable.

As we enter 2026, AI continues to reshape industries; leaders are pondering what to do as they embrace and grapple with what’s to come. Enterprises and individuals must find their place in the emerging blend of uncertainty, hype, and productive reality.

At the start of a new year, there are five AI trends influencing C-suite discussions. Each trend presents significant business opportunities and challenges for companies, governments, and individuals.

Data is both the lifeblood and the bottleneck

There can be no AI without data, and it’s clear that AI-ready data is both the lifeblood and the bottleneck for business operations. showed that 83% of business leaders state their AI adoption is hindered by their data infrastructure.

Data is essential for AI, but how much of it is real and how much is synthetic? Do companies have access to their critical data, and what are they doing to maximize their data for the greatest value? Access is as important as quality, and if a company can’t provide access to its AI-ready data, it will rapidly lose its competitive edge.

Smart companies are attempting to master data management through AI automation, and it can definitely be achieved, but you have to get your data correct. Some industries, like financial services, have made substantial investments in data for decades. They are now prepared to utilize next-generation technologies associated with AI.

Rise of the self-driving enterprise (powered by agents and physical AI)

This is where agentic AI gains a foothold in business operations and where the workforce has to adapt to working with digital colleagues. It’s important to stress that humans set the vision and AI agents (and robots) will carry out their work under human supervision.

Success in this environment means onboarding, training, auditing, and retiring agents just like employees, with clear policies to ensure ethics and compliance. Physical AI acquires quantum minds and robotic bodies, and their presence gives a new look and feel to industries ranging from advanced manufacturing to healthcare, automotive to energy, and finance to telecommunications.

AI isn’t borderless anymore

Sovereign AI is the “sleeping giant” affecting multinational businesses and government organizations. Countries or regions have established distinct “AI islands” of rules and policies that multinational companies must navigate to conduct business in good faith.

that by 2029, half of multinational organizations will have digital sovereignty strategies in place, while only 10% do currently. Early adopters of sovereign AI gain a strategic leadership advantage in privacy-sensitive markets.

Data infrastructure and models are tied to geography, so there are no one-size-fits-all solutions that will work in a global context. As AI grows and develops, sovereign AI strategy and execution become crucial for business success.

Work reimagined: Adaptability becomes the new job security

Initial concerns about AI centered on how it impacts jobs. The main worry was that AI would somehow replace entire industries and displace employees in favor of more efficient digital alternatives. While it’s true that some jobs and industries are in flux, AI is part of a reimagining of the workforce. Jobs are changing more rapidly than ever, and the ability to adapt to new circumstances and roles in an AI-driven environment becomes the new job security.

Massive upskilling is needed, and those companies and governments that don’t invest in reskilling will fall behind. There is hope – history shows that technology has always created positive job growth in the long run – but the types of jobs will look very different from today, and disruption will occur more quickly this time.

As individuals embrace AI for common tasks in their personal lives, it’s wise to enhance their knowledge of AI as it relates to career growth and opportunity. It’s better to understand the future than worry about it.

Trust is the new currency

An explosion of AI deepfakes has inundated social media and news reports in recent years, creating trust issues for many businesses and individuals. Credibility differentiates in a world of deepfakes, and trust will become the new currency in 2026.

Business leaders are learning that they must incorporate responsible AI into everything they do now – into the data and business models, the algorithms, and how employees are trained with AI. The from October shows that companies that have incorporated responsible AI are experiencing less compliance risk, more revenue, and innovation as the safeguards enable companies to experiment safely and innovate with AI.

The forecast is bold, and the pace of change will only accelerate from here. Your AI strategy must match this boldness if your organization is going to thrive as we enter the next frontier.